Kirstin Maldonado & Her Pentatonix Mates Release Inspirational “Amazing Grace” Cover

Posted on November 7, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Kirstin Maldonado is bringin’ a little grace to the holiday season…

The 28-year-old Mexican & Spanish American singer and her Pentatonix group mates have surprised the world with the release of the music video for their new cover of “Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone).”

In the Jimmy Bates-directed clip, Maldonado and her Pentatonix mates infuse the enduring gospel classic with their trademark a capella harmonies while wandering through a stunning outdoor church in the misty woods.

“My chains are gone/ I’ve been set free/ My God, my savior has ransomed me/ And like a flood/ His mercy reigns/ Unending love/ Amazing grace,” Mitch Grassi belts, while his bandmates provide crashing percussion and background vocals. Maldonado then takes over lead vocals on the next pitch-perfect stanza.

The track will serve as the lead single for the band’s upcoming sixth holiday album, We Need a Little Christmas, which is slated to drop November 13 via RCA Records.

While Pentatonix has yet to reveal the studio set’s complete track list, it will follow The Best of Pentatonix Christmas, their 2019 holiday compilation which featured collaborations with Tori Kelly (“Winter Wonderland/Don’t Worry, Be Happy“), Kelly Clarkson (“Grown Up Christmas List“), Maren Morris (“When You Believe”) and Jennifer Hudson (“How Great Thou Art“), as well as a posthumous duet with the late Whitney Houston on “Do You Hear What I Hear?”

Previously, the Christmas-loving a capella group has also released 2012’s PTXmas, 2014’s That’s Christmas to Me, 2016’s A Pentatonix Christmas and 2018’s Christmas Is Here!

Their next non-holiday full-length, titled The Lucky Ones, is currently expected to hit shelves, digital retailers and streaming services on February 12, 2021.

Maldonado & Pentatonix Groupmates Remain Atop the Billboard 200 for Second Week

Posted on January 2, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Kirstie Maldonado is still basking in the holiday spirit…

The 24-year-old half-Mexican, part Spanish-American singer and her fellow Pentatonix members spend a second week atop the Billboard 200 with their holiday album A Pentatonix Christmas.

The set earned 101,000 equivalent album units in the week ending December 29, 2016 — the final tracking week of the calendar year.

The closing tracking frame of 2016 includes the two days leading up to Christmas Day and the holiday itself, so it’s fitting that a Christmas album leads the tally.

While A Pentatonix Christmas’ total units earned for the week were down by 51 percent, its traditional album sales were greater than any other album: it sold 82,000 copies (down 55 percent), far ahead of the No. 2 selling set of the week, Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic, with 55,000 copies (down 39 percent).

A Pentatonix Christmas‘ handsome sales, along with small declines in SEA and TEA (down 12 and 10 percent, respectively), helps keep the album ahead of the No. 2 set on the Billboard 200, The Weeknd’s former No. 1 Starboy. The latter climbs one rung with 94,000 units (down only 7 percent).

Mars’ 24K Magic dips one slot to No. 3 with 81,000 units (down 29 percent), while J. Cole’s 4 Your Eyez Only is steady at No. 4 with 75,000 units (down 16 percent).

The original Broadway cast recording of Hamilton: An American Musical climbs two positions to No. 5 with 54,000 units (down 7 percent). This is the highest rank for the title in five months, since it also placed at No. 5 on the August 6, 2016-dated list. The album has so far peaked at No. 3 (July 2, 2016), following its 11 Tony Award wins on June 12.

The soundtrack to the animated film Moana jumps 10-6 on the new chart with 53,000 units (up 4 percent), while Twenty One Pilots’ Blurryface vaults 15-7 with 52,000 units (up 37 percent). The latter album benefits from a $5.99 sale price in the Apple iTunes store, as well as promotion generated by the release of Twenty One Pilots’ new EP with MuteMath, The MuteMath Sessions, on Dec. 20. Overall sales of Blurryface were up by 23 percent to 33,000, while its download sales increased by a whopping 268 percent to 20,000.

Maldonado & Her Pentatonix Bandmates’ Christmas Album Reaches No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart

Posted on December 28, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Kirstie Maldonado is a woman on top… of the charts…

The 24-year-old half-Mexican, part Spanish-American singer and her fellow Pentatonix members have scored their second No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart.

The vocal group’s Pentatonix Christmas rises 2-1 on the latest list, earning 206,000 equivalent album units in the week ending December 22 (up 32 percent), according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 185,000 were in traditional album sales (up 33 percent).

It’s the first holiday album at No. 1 in five years, since Michael Buble’s Christmas ruled the tally for five consecutive weeks on the charts dated December 10, 2011, through January 7, 2012.

Pentatonix previously led the list with its self-titled album, which debuted atop the list in 2015.

The album benefits from not only holiday-fueled purchases, as well as a sale price in the iTunes Store (for just $7.99), but also a number of television appearances from the group during the tracking week. The act’s December 7 performance on ABC‘s Jimmy Kimmel Live! repeated on Dec. 16; NBC‘s A Pentatonix Christmas Special (which premiered on December 14) received an encore airing on December 17; they sang on NBC’s America’s Got Talent Holiday Spectacular on December 19; and they performed on Fox News’ Fox & Friends on December 21 and the syndicated Rachael Ray Show on December 22.

A Pentatonix Christmas is the group’s sixth top 10 album overall, and third holiday effort to reach the region, following 2014’s No. 2-peaking That’s Christmas to Me, and the 2013 PTXmas EP, which climbed to No. 7.

Pentatonix’s latest No. 1 also earns the largest sales week for a holiday album in two years, since Pentatonix’s previous holiday set, That’s Christmas to Me, sold 203,000 copies in the week ending December 21, 2014. In fact, the last acts that weren’t Pentatonix to sell more in a single week with a holiday album were Michael Buble and Justin Bieber during the week ending December 25, 2011. That week, Buble sold 467,000 copies of Christmas, while Bieber moved 225,000 copies of his Under the Mistletoe.

Further, A Pentatonix Christmas is the first album to earn its first week at No. 1 by climbing there — as opposed to debuting or re-entering at No. 1–since Rihanna’s Anti vaulted from No. 27 to No. 1 in its second chart week, on the February 20-dated list.

Also notable, since A Pentatonix Christmas reaches No. 1 in its ninth week on the list, it logs the slowest continuous climb to No. 1 (thus excepting re-entries at No. 1 from Prince’s The Very Best of Prince and Chris Stapleton’s Traveller) since the March 16, 2013-dated list, when Bruno Mars’ Unorthodox Jukebox reached No. 1 in its 12^th week.

Pentatonix’s New Holiday Album On Track to Reach No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart

Posted on December 22, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Kirstie Maldonado is ready to rule the roost…

The 24-year-old half-Mexican, part Spanish-American singer and her fellow Pentatonix members are on track for the vocal group’s second No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart, as industry forecasters believe the a cappella act’s latest release, the holiday effort A Pentatonix Christmas, could rise to the top of next week’s list.

Prognosticators say the album could earn over 175,000 equivalent album units in the week ending December 22. That should be enough to easily take over the top spot, as the next closest competitors will likely be The Weeknd’s Starboy album and Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic, with both albums predicted to sell around 100,000 copies for the week.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The top 10 of the new January 7, 2017-dated Billboard 200 chart — where A Pentatonix Christmas could rise to No. 1 — is scheduled to be revealed on Billboard’s websites on Monday, December 26.

A Pentatonix Christmas was released through RCA Records on October 21. It debuted at No. 3 on the November 12-dated chart, and has never ranked lower than No. 6 on the list in its eight weeks on the chart. On the latest tally, reflecting the tracking week ending December 15, it climbed from No. 3 to No. 2 with 156,000 units (up from 128,000 the week previous).

The album is basking in the glow of holiday-fueled purchases, as well as a sale price in the iTunes Store (for just $7.99), as well as due to a number of television appearances from the group during the tracking week. The act’s December 7 performance on ABC‘s Jimmy Kimmel Live! repeated on December 16, NBC‘s A Pentatonix Christmas Special (which premiered on Dec. 14) received an encore airing on December 17, and they sang on NBC’s America’s Got Talent Holiday Spectacular on December 19.

If the album reaches No. 1, it will give Pentatonix its second leader, following their self-titled album, which debuted atop the Nov. 7, 2015-dated list. A Pentatonix Christmas is the group’s sixth top 10 album overall, and third holiday effort to reach the region, following 2014’s No. 2-peaking That’s Christmas To Me, and the 2013 PTXmas EP, which climbed to No. 7.

Maldonado & Pentatonix’s New Holiday Album Debuts at No. 3 on Billboard 200 Chart

Posted on October 31, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Kirstie Maldonado has another holiday hit on her hands…

The 24-year-old half-Mexican, part Spanish-American singer and her fellow Pentatonix members’ latest album, A Pentatonix Christmas, debuts at No. 3 on the new Billboard 200 album chart.

Pentatonix’s new album registered 60,000 units (52,000 in traditional album sales).

The set marks the sixth top 10 for the act and third holiday album to reach the list (following That’s Christmas to Me in 2014, which peaked at No. 2, and the PTXmas EP in 2013, which peaked at No. 7).

A Pentatonix Christmas also starts at No. 1 on the Holiday Albums chart, the second leader for the group on that tally, after That’s Christmas to Me.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The new November 12-dated chart will be posted in full to Billboard’s websites on Tuesday, November 1.

Pentatonix’s “That’s Christmas To Me” is 2014’s Best-Selling Album by a Group

Posted on January 3, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

It’s turned out to be an extra special holiday season for Kirstie Maldonado…

The 22-year-old half-Mexican/part-Spanish singer and her Pentatonix band mates’ holiday album That’s Christmas To Me has ended the year as the year’s best-selling Christmas set.

The album, which reached the one million mark in sales just before Christmas, ends the year with 1.14 million copies sold.

That’s Christmas To Me is also 2014’s best-selling album by a group.

The holiday album slid by 39 percent in total units (131,000 for the week) and by 41 percent in album sales (121,000) — but holds at No. 3 on this week’s Billboard 200 chart.

In all, That’s Christmas To Me has spent six weeks (all consecutive) locked in the top three of the chart, peaking at No. 2 for two weeks.

Maldonado’s Pentatonix’s Holiday Album Registers 1 Million in Total Sales

Posted on December 24, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Kirstie Maldonado has one million to celebrate…

The 22-year-old half-Mexican/part-Spanish singer and her Pentatonix band mates’ holiday album That’s Christmas To Me has surpassed 1 million in total sales in the week ending December 21.

With another 203,000 sold, its cumulative total now stands at 1.02 million, landing Pentatonix in special company.

That’s Christmas To Me, released through RCA Records, is only the fourth album to sell a million copies in the U.S. in 2014, following the Frozen soundtrack (3.46 million), Taylor Swift’s 1989 (3.34 million) and Sam Smith’s In the Lonely Hour (1.13 million).

That’s Christmas To Me continues to be the a cappella group’s best selling studio effort, well ahead of PTXmas, which has moved 356,000.

Additionally, That’s Christmas To Me is the first holiday album to sell a million copies in a calendar year since 2011, when both Michael Buble’s Christmas and Justin Bieber’s Under the Mistletoe managed the feat (with 2.45 million and 1.25 million, respectively).

Maldonado’s Pentatonix Makes History on the Billboard Holiday Charts

Posted on December 6, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Kirstie Maldonado is making holiday history while spreading Christmas cheer…

The half-Mexican American/part-Spanish singer and her fellow Pentatonix group members, who earned their first-ever Grammy nomination on Friday, have become the first act to top both of Billboard’s seasonal charts simultaneously.

Pentatonix’s “Mary, Did You Know?” tops the Billboard Holiday 100 chart this week. The Christmas song actually earned top debut honors on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Meanwhile, the group – the winners of NBC’s The Sing-Off – command the Billboard Top Holiday Albums chart for a sixth week with That’s Christmas to Me (227,000 sold, up 129 percent, according to Nielsen Music). It’s led the chart since its November 8 debut.

Additionally, That’s Christmas to Me is the first album by a group to notch as many as six straight weeks at No. 1 on Top Holiday Albums since Hanson‘s Snowed In likewise blanketed the list for six weeks in 1997-98.

“Mary” marks Pentatonix’s second Holiday 100 No. 1: “Little Drummer Boy” topped the Dec. 21, 2013, chart.

Maldonado & Pentatonix’s New Album Earns Top 3 Spot On Billboard’s Albums Chart

Posted on November 26, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas for Kirstie Maldonado…

The half-Mexican American/part-Spanish artist and her fellow Pentatonix group members have registered their highest charting album yet on this week’s Billboard 200 chart.

In addition, the cappella group had its biggest sales week ever as the group’s album That’s Christmas To Me rises 8-3 with 99,000 (up 193 percent from their previous effort).

It’s Pentatonix’s second top five album in 2014, following PTX: Vol. III (EP), which hit No. 5.

Maldonado & Pentatonix Release Music Video for “That’s Christmas to Me.”

Posted on November 19, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Kirstie Maldonado is spreading holiday cheer…

The half-Mexican American/part-Spanish artist and her fellow Pentatonix group mates have released the official music video for their original Christmas song “That’s Christmas to Me.”

Following clips for “White Winter Hymnal,” “Winter Wonderland/Don’t Worry be Happy” and “Mary, Did You Know?” comes the clip for the title track from their upcoming Christmas album, which finds the group — including Maldonado, Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi, Avi Kaplan and Kevin “K.O.” Olusola — sitting together in a living room, reminiscing about the best times of the holidays.

The most exciting part of the video? It includes what appears to be real-life home-video footage of each member from a merry Christmas morning in their childhoods.

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Celebrating the Latino Influence

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